Educational and training device for children



July 7, 1959 G. BARRADAS 2,893,591

EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING DEVICE FOR CHILDREN Filed Aug. 2. 1955 FIGJ. I' L l INVENTOR GEORGE BARRADAS BY H IS ATTORNEYS I I I I I I I I United States Patent "ice 2,89%591 concur-oust Davies OR H L George Barradas, Stamford, Conn., assignor to Consolidated Molded Products Corporation, Scranton, Pa., a corporation of Delaware a puanonan us z,-12ss, ser:atN .:s2s,29z

G Claims. (G1;-

This invention: relates to -educatioiial devicesand it relates more particularly'toreceptacles "for beverages, food and thelike, by means ofwhich children can be encouraged to eat atmealtimes; without the need for extensive supervision and coaxing.

The invention also includes other types--of-receptacles,- such'as, for example, coinbanksi by means of which thehabit of saving can be encouraged.

It is well recognized that there are periods during childhood when it is difficultto interest children in eating-and drinking at mealtimes; Manytypesofdishes; cups, drinking glasses and the like have been provided which have features that are intendedto promote the interestof the child; in a beverage or foodtherein.

' The present invention relatesto a; class (if-receptacles that encourages a childto consume a food; or, beverage therein or to makeother suitable use of; the receptacle,

becausevthe appearance of 'thereceptacle, changes as the weight of it's contents Varies, More particularly, the present invention involves a receptacle, having a 0011- tainer portion which is suitably'designed toreceive a food, aheverage, or the like, the container portion being mounted on a, footor base in such a manner that as the weight in the container portion varies, the over-all height of the receptacle will. change. When a receptacle of the type embodying the present invention is embodied in the form of. a drinking goblet, the, container portion is the bowl of the goblet. The ste'mof the goblet interposed between the bowl and its base is constructed and arranged to telescope within the bowl against the biasing action. of; a, spring sothatwhenthehQwl is full, the stem is almostcompletely telesconed, the bowl and thus the bowl' of'the goblet appears to-rest almost, if not quite; on-the base or. footthereofi 'As the contents of the. gobletare consumed, thedecreased weight enable; the. biasing spring tolraise the. goblet farther al ng the. stem thereby. causing, he no lemagr w in: overll height,, ltimately fully ex end nsl e-stem h n all f the contents thereof are consumed. The; goblet, may be suitably-ornamented to resemble agfanciful or. storybook. figure by forming a face on the bowl togive the appearance of. a head. The base may be moldedv or otherwise decorated to resemble feet. or shoes and, the stem may be ornamented to resemble legs. Such ornamentation makes the goblet resemble a figure which hr nk oegmw nend aa up n sis of; t e: s tents of the bowl.

A similar but reverse action may be obtained by making the container portion of the receptacle in the form of a coin bank having a slot therein to receive coins. The container portion of the bank is mounted to telescopically receive a supporting stem so that as the number of coins in the bank increases, more and more of the stem is telescoped into the container portion.

It will be understood that as the receptacle is lifted, the stem will move outwardly, but when the receptacle is again placed on its base, the stem will slowly retract a 2,893,591 Patented July 7, 19 59 2 distancecorresponding substantially to the weight remaining in the container portion.

The action of the goblet and its change in appearance arouses the interest; of a small child and when the-child sees that the appearance of the goblet can be changed by drinking the beverage in the goblet, the child will normally not need further encouragement to consume thebeverage. A receptacle of the type indicated attracts the attention of the child to the food and ofisets to a largeextent the distractions which cause the child to lose interest inea-ting at mealtimes.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in whi h:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational. view of a goblet of the empty condition in dotted lines.

Figs. 1 and 2 disclose a preferred form of the inven tionwhichisinthe form of a drinking goblet 10 suitable for receiving milk or the like for consumption by a child, The goblet is susceptible to considerable .varia tion int size and dimensions and in the material from which it isgmade. Asil1ustrated, the goblet is formed of a. syn cplastic, preferably, o r s en or p qu type, and it may have a face or the like painted" or molded on'the bowl 11 of thegoblet. The bowl 11 is of rounded configuration. and has an open upper end. which may, be suitably. covered, or. closed by means of a. re-. movable cap, 12. which, as illustrated, may simulate a The cover 12. is also formed ofplastic and straw. hat. has ,a fiat topli. containing an-opening 14 throughv which a, drinking, straw S may be inserted. The cover or closure 12,.has a rabbeted portion 15 therein whichreceives aicomplernentarily shaped upper lip 16 of the bowl of the goblet 10. Thelower end or bottom of the bowl 11 is provided with an inwardly extending tubular portion 17 integral. -therewith and having an inner closed end, 18. A hollow cylindrical stem 19 on the base or foot 20' of the goblet is slidably received within the tubular portion .1f7 so. that they may move relatively. The lower end of the stem 19 is integral with the concavo-convex upper section 21 0f, the. base which, is joined to a disklike. bottom closure. 22 by means of cement or in any other suitable way.

Av spring. 23 isinterposed between the upper end portion 24 of the stem, 19. and the inner surfaceof the end closure 18. of the tubular portion of the bowl 11.

the stein 1 9; to about, the relation shownin dotted-lines in Figs. 1. and. 2. Upward movement of the gobletalong,

the stem;.1;9 limited, by means of a stop member. 25

cemented or otherwise secured on an elongated member or rod 26 extending downwardly from the inner side of the end closure 18 and passing through a tubular guide portion 27 on the end 24 of the stem 19. The length of the rod 26 is such that the stop 25 will engage the tubular portion 27 when the bowl 11 is at the upper end of the stem. Tipping of the bowl relative to the stem is prevented by contact of the stem 19 with the tubular portion 17 and engagement between the rod 26 and the portion 27.

The spring is designed to compensate approximately for the weight of a liquid L in the bowl 11. Thus, the

In this way, the bowl 1-1. is. normally urgedupwardly along,

spring 23 will be fully compressed and the stem 19 will i be substantially fully telescope into the bowl when the bowl is full of liquid. The spring is strong enough to move the bowl to the uppermost position on the stem when the bowl is empty orsubstantially so. In this way, the goblet, like the user thereof, may be caused to grow by consumption of the contents of the goblet.

A similar arrangement can be used in a coin bank such a s that' shown in Fig. 3. Thus, the coin container 29 may, for example, take a hollow, substantially closed, egg shaped form and might be ornamented or decorated to resemble Humpty-Dumpty. It is provided with a coinreceiving slot 30 on the top or any other suitable location. The coin container 29 is mounted on a telescoping stem 31 and a base 32 in the manner described above. With thisarrangement, when the coin container 29 is empty, it will be projected along the stem to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 and when it attains a predetermined weight of coins, the container 29 will be depressed along the stem 31 so that the latter is telescoped substantially completely within the container.

It will be understood that similar telescoping arrangements of stem and base may be used in other types of containers, for example, in dishes mounted on relatively wider but shorter stems or pedestals and that the design, appearance, size and proportions of the device may be modified as'desired. Accordingly, the forms of the invention disclosed herein should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

'I claim:

f 1. A receptacle comprising a hollow container having an opening in one end for introduction of a product into and discharge of said product from said container, a tubular portion extending inwardly from the opposite end of said container and disposed substantially entirely within said container, said tubular portion having its interior substantially isolated from the interior of said container to prevent escape of said product into said tubular portion, a base for supporting said container, a stem extend ing from'said base into said tubular portion and in sliding engagement therewith, means interposed between said stem and said closed inner end of said tubular portion normally urging said container away from said base, the strength of said urging means being sufficient to lift the container substantially to the upper end of said stem when said container is substantially empty and to be compressed and thereby lower the container substantially completely to the bottom of said stern when the container is full, and means limiting the movement of said container relative to said base.

2. The receptacle set forth in claim 1, in which said hollow container is a cup member having said tubular portion in its bottom.

3. The receptacle set forth in claim 1, in which said hollow container is a substantially completely closed coin bank having a slot therein to receive coins.

4. A receptacle comprising a hollow cup for receiving liquids having an imperforate tubular portion extending from the bottom thereof inwardly and having an inner closed end, a base for supporting said container, a stem on said base extending into and slidable relative to said tubular portion, and having an outer end movable'to-' ward and away from said closed end, a spring interposed between the outer end of said stem and said closed end of said tubular portion and biasing said container away from said base, said spring being related to the weight of a material to be received in said container so that the spring is compressed and the container is adjacent to said base when the container is substantially full of a material and the spring is extended and the container is spaced 1 from the base when the container is substantially empty,

and means for retaining said stem in said tubular portion.

5. A receptacle comprising a cup member having a tubular portion disposed substantially entirely within said cup member and extending from the bottom thereof inwardly and having a closed inner end, a base for supporting saidcup'member, a stem" extending from said base into sa1d tubular portion and, in sliding engagement therewith, means interposed between said stem and said closed inner end of said tubular portion normally urging said cup member away from said base, the strength of said urging means being sufi'icient to lift the cup member substantially to the upper end of said stem when said cup member is substantially empty and to be compressed.

and thereby lower the cup member substantially completely to the bottom of said stem when the cup member is full, means limiting the movement of said cup member relative to said base, and a cover for said cup member having a hole therein to receive a straw. v

6.; A receptacle comprising a-hollow cup for receiving liquids having an imperforate tubular portion extending from the bottom thereof inwardly and having an inner closed end, a base for supporting said container, the hollow stem on'said base extending into and slidable relative to said tubular portion and having an outer end movable toward and away from said closed end, said outerend having a holein it, an elongated rod fixed to the inner end ofsaid tubular portion and extending through said hole, an enlargement on the end ofsaid rod larger than saidhole to. engage the outerend of said stem for retaining said rod against separation from said stem, and a spring interposed between the outer end of said stem and said closed end of said tubular portion and biasing saidi container away .from said base, said spring being related toithe weight of a material to be received in said container so. that the'spring is compressed and the container is adjacent to said base when the container is substantially full of a material and the spring is extended and thecontainer is spaced from the base when the containeris substantially empty.

' References Cited in the file of this patent I i UNITED PATENTS Sweden Aug. 1, 

